SAGINAW, MI — Police officer Brian Wilson believes proactive law enforcement practices can have a significant impact on the number of crimes being committed in a community.

He says that type of work is threatened as police forces across Michigan see their numbers trimmed.

"What you see is that the volume of calls that need to be handled stack up against you," Wilson said. "Your time and availability to be proactive — to stop crimes in progress and to catch people about to commit crimes — whether you know it or not, is greatly decreased because your time … is spent answering those calls."

Wilson, who previously worked for the Bay City and Midland police departments, joined the Saginaw force in 2011 at a time when the department had significantly more officers than it does today. He watched as positions were eliminated, mostly through attrition, before he became one of two officers laid off due to lack of seniority on the force.

Today, Wilson is working part-time for the St. Charles Police Department and doing odd jobs to make ends meet. He’d like to return to the Saginaw Police Department and continue the work he was doing.

“A lot of my awards … had to do with being proactive,” Wilson said. “My ability to do that was reduced significantly over the past year because I didn’t have as much back-up and I didn’t have anywhere near as much time on the road.”

Saginaw Police Chief Brian Lipe agrees that proactive policing makes a big difference. Without more boots on the ground, he said Saginaw police must be even smarter and creative in the way they battle crime in order to keep the city as safe as possible.

"Our ability to do the proactive police work has declined," Lipe said. "That doesn't mean we aren't doing it in between calls when we do have that breather."

Lipe attributes more than half of this year’s cases to gang and drug activity.

"Of (this year's) homicides, I think 13 of them we suspect are gang or drug related. Those are the ones we think we can really target and try to decrease by finding the right people and locking them up," Lipe said.

When comparing the first seven months of this year to the same period in 2012, Saginaw Police Department records show the number of homicides was up but, in general, the number of violent crimes is down.

In total, Lipe reports a 14 percent decrease in high priority crimes through July of 2013. That number includes a decrease in the number of shootings, overall.

Lipe said the use of crime mapping is one of the ways the department is working smarter and more creatively to prevent crime.

"What we are doing is using crime mapping and data … so (officers) will hopefully be in the right place at the right time based on that crime history to either prevent crime just by being there or catch it in progress," Lipe explained.

Lipe said the 18 Michigan State Police troopers and two sergeant who are assigned to patrol Saginaw also are continuing proactive efforts.

“What we, as a police agency, are relying on and are thankful for is that the state police are kind of picking up that proactive portion of the police work.”

This type of teamwork is critical to preventing and reducing crime, Lipe said, pointing to three federal investigations the Saginaw Police Department participated in starting in 2003 that led to convictions of criminals playing major roles in three violent Saginaw gangs.

“That aided us in reducing the amount of violent crime,” Lipe said.

An MLive Media Group analysis of FBI data supports that assertion. In 2003, Saginaw saw 1,640 violent crimes — homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — and 2,681 property crimes — burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson. In 2011, the total number of violent crimes was 1,167, while the total number of property crimes was 1,887.

That difference — from 4,321 crimes in 2003 to 3,054 crimes in 2011 — marks a nearly 30 percent decline. At the same time, the city’s population decreased from 60,273 in 2003 to 51,469 in 2011, a near 15 percent decline.

The reduction in crime came during a time when Saginaw's force was fluctuating in numbers. According to statistics from the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, Saginaw had 110 sworn officers in 2003 and 86 by 2012.

Now, with 31 fewer officers, Lipe said he would like to find enough money in the budget to bring back Wilson and fellow officer Jeremy Holden, both of whom were laid off on July 1.

"Obviously, it all depends on finances," Lipe said.

"We are constantly looking for ways. … that would bring them back. Anything we can do, we are still looking and hoping that we can somehow bring those two back and boost our numbers.”

Wilson, who said he felt God called him to work in Saginaw, said he still believes he was meant to work in Saginaw.

"Saginaw is my community, where I live, and whatever difference I can make it's not just for me, it's for my family and the people at my church and the people in my community, too," Wilson said. "Every bad person off the streets is somebody that they might not have to deal with."

— Jessica Fleischman is a public safety reporter with MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact her at 989-996-0687, email her at jfleisc2@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.